Fire safety

Our customers’ safety takes priority throughout the design, build and maintenance of all our buildings.

Catalyst fire safety inspections

We work closely with the fire authorities to ensure that our buildings and procedures meet all statutory requirements and regulations.

All of our properties that have shared areas (such as stairwells and corridors) are regularly checked, inspected and assessed by specialists for fire risks. Our inspections are carried out by Team Safety. When you have seen their identification, please let our fire inspectors in.

The government is currently revising its fire safety inspection guidelines, and it’s likely that in future Team Safety will also need to access customers’ properties to carry out checks. We’ll keep you up to date as things change, so that you know what to expect.

Fire service fire safety checks

Your local fire service provides free home safety checks and in many areas, this may include fitting a free smoke alarm. Get a free fire safety visit from your local fire service:

London Fire Brigade: 08000 28 44 28

Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service: 0800 587 6679

Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service: 01296 744477

Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service: 01865 842999

Check your smoke alarm regularly

You should test your smoke alarm every month to check it’s working properly. You can download this handy leaflet explaining how to test your smoke alarm

Keep communal areas clear

A key part of fire safety is keeping escape routes and communal areas clear, so that there’s nothing in the way if people need to get out quickly. We visit neighbourhoods regularly to identify any health and safety hazards, but please do let us know if there are any items you believe are causing an obstruction in your building.

If a fire breaks out, should I stay in my property or leave?

There will be fire action notices displayed in your building to tell you what the advice is for your property. In some cases, you will need to evacuate your property. But for most of our customers, the best advice is to ‘stay put unless’. This is because there are safety measures in place to stop a fire spreading if it breaks out in your building. But if the fire breaks out in your own flat, or if heat and smoke from elsewhere are affecting you, the advice is to leave the property. If you’re not sure what the fire safety advice is for your particular building, please email us at contactcatalyst@chg.org.uk or phone us on 0300 456 2099.

Should my building have sprinklers?

At the moment, there is no legal requirement to provide sprinklers in buildings that are less than 30m high. So if there are no sprinklers fitted in your block, this is because the fire authority is satisfied that the existing levels of fire protection are adequate and sprinklers aren’t needed.

If the law changes following the fire at Grenfell Tower and we’re required to retrofit sprinklers in any of our properties, we will of course install these.